Mash Time for a New Doctor
by susan cousineau
Summary: This is the story of Hawkeye Pierce and the 4077th. This is what happens after Trapper leaves.
1. Chapter 1

Mash 4077th was one of the most demanding places that one could be assigned to . Other than the front lines they were where you went when you were injured. The skills of the doctor was all you had for a chance at life. Many men came into the hospital and left in much better condition than they could have ever hoped for. But, many left never to be the same and have life long injuries and disabilities. Then there were those that would not make it at all. Time and time again the women of the MASH 4977th would face that reality.

Trapper John had been at the 4077th for over five years and it was time for him to move on. He wanted to go back to his home. He missed his family and friends. When the order finally came in telling him that he was now being sent home he couldn't have been happier. It was true that he was going to miss the people that he had met, but he had spent his time there.

Hawkeye couldn't help but feel that he was going to miss his friend. They had been together working and sharing the same sleeping quarters for a long time now. But he knew that Trapper wanted to go home as much as he did. When Trapper showed him the orders sending him home he congratulated him. Seeing the orders on paper Hawkeye was hit hard.

As Hawkeye looked around the compound at the crazy things that were going on and such horrors. No one should ever have to see the sights that he had seen . Now he was going to be alone in the tent with Major Burns. Burns was a nobody that drove Hawkeye crazy. He was a crybaby who wanted everything to go his way and had a low regard for his patients. Although, as a doctor he was barely acceptable Burns always thought that he was a superior doctor.

One of the few things that had made life livable for Hawkeye had been the fun that he and Trapper had with Frank. They had played so many pranks on the man that Frank nearly walked backwards when they were around. He had watched Frank as he had approached his cot with caution. Frank never knew what Hawkeye and Trapper had been up to and he might find his bed short sheeted. He might find anything and he had to be prepared.

Gone were those days with the leaving of Trapper and now the unit was going to be short a doctor. The workload was already unreasonable and there were days that Hawkeye didn't see the sun now. With the unit being short of doctors once again he could be facing twenty hours of surgery at a time, should there be a large battle somewhere out in the country of Korea.

Hawkeye had planned on throwing his friend a good-bye party but while he was once again in the surgical unit for over fourteen hours his friend left for his home and the states. Hawkeye was sad that he never got to say good-bye to his friend, but he knew that they had already said all that they could have said. If Hawkeye ever managed to leave Korea he would call him one day.

Hawkeye watched as Major Burns and Major Houlihan made their way to her private tent. They were something else and thought that they were both superior to any other member of the unit. He watched and listened as Major Houlihan giggled and Frank made a clumsy move towards her. He was kissing her neck and saying something to her. Once again she giggled. He turned to his own tent (the swamp) as he heard the door slam to the tent where the two majors had just gone.

Hawkeye couldn't sleep and started to write his father a letter. He tried to write his dad in Maine every week, and found that on this day he needed to write him more than usual. He was in the middle of writing the letter when one of the men that he knew from the nearby village came knocking on the door.

As Hawkeye opened the door to the man he saw that the man was very stressed out. "Come in." he told Na his friend.

"Mr. Hawkeye it is my brother. He has fallen from a great height and is not awake. There is blood too. Please come and help him." he begged.

The MASH unit had the only doctors for miles around and the local people always knew that if they could the doctors at the unit would help the people in the village. He grabbed his medical bag and once again headed to the jeep compound to get a ride to the town.

He could use an assistant and to his pleasure he found one. Because the man that had fallen might need an operation or transportation back to the MASH unit Hawkeye went to the tent to pick up some extra supplies. He might need to give the man a blood transfusion, so he needed to bring him some blood testing equipment.

Hawkeye was over at the medicine cabinet taking out things that he might need when Nancy one of the nurses came over. She was a pretty young girl about twenty-five years old. She was very good at her job also.

Nancy looked over at Hawkeye Pierce and saw him with a man that she recognized from the village. When the man told her what had happened she listened carefully and then told Hawkeye. "Could you use an assistant?"

Hawkeye smiled at her and said "I was hoping you would ask." With that Hawkeye handed her a whole stack of supplies. As they went to the jeep carrying the items Radar came around the corner. He asked "Where are you headed Hawkeye?"

Hawkeye knew the young man had one of the kindest hearts he had ever met and said "Please tell Henry that we are on our way, that is Nancy and I, to help a man that has fallen from a long distance. I will keep you informed of what I find. " With that Nancy Hawkeye and Na headed out to the village.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride to the village was not a long one, but it was dangerous. There were land mines that Hawkeye would need to keep an out for and the roads were used mostly by horses. There were deep ditches and mud everywhere.

But some thirty minutes later the three people came into the village and were led to Na's hut. The hut had a large fire in the middle of it and on the bed roll to the side lay a man. He was a man that Hawkeye and Nancy both knew well. He was always at the 4077th trying to help out Major Burns for extra money. Burns was never nice to the man and had been close to abusive to him on many instances.

Ho was not conscious and as Hawkeye began his examination of him he knew that the man was in trouble. His abdomen was very swollen and he was sure that the man was bleeding internally. This was not the best place to perform an operation, but it was the only place that the people had. He turned to Na and explained to him that he was going to need blood.

"My nurse Nancy has a kit that can make sure that your brother can use your blood. But we are going to need to get more blood from others. Is there anyone here that will give us the blood?" Hawkeye asked.

Na spoke up in his language and four men came right up and offered their blood. Nancy took a drop of blood form each of them and tested it. Two of the men had the right type of blood but she might need more. "Can you go and ask others if they will donate also." she asked him.

"But they are not his family. Can they give their blood?" Na asked.

"Yes, it doesn't have to be a family member." Nancy assured him.

As she turned around a few minutes later there was a whole room full of people who were willing to donate their blood. As Nancy checked each of the potential donors out she found five more people with the right type of blood. Na had them all take seats and wait to hear form the great Doctor Hawkeye.

The men brought a table into the tent and carefully moved their friend to the table. Nancy set up the IV and the blood and Hawkeye showed Ha how to apply the medication to allow his brother to sleep through the operation. Nancy pulled up the tools that they would need and set up the tray. Once everyone was wearing a surgical mask Hawkeye began the operation.

The man had been badly injured and the operation took over three hours. Na watched in wonder as the doctor reached into a large pool of blood in his brother's stomach and started to sew him up blood vessel by blood vessel. Hawkeye had no choice but to remove the man's spleen, but other than that the man would be all right if he didn't get an infection.

As he gave the instructions to Na on what to do and what to give his brother Hawkeye sat with the patient.. He had no intentions of leaving the tent until the man woke up. There was always a real danger that he would start bleeding again and he wanted to monitor the man's vital signs. As he sat back and closed his eyes Nancy cleaned up around the room. She had just closed her eyes when she heard the man stir.

Hawkeye heard him too and sat right up. Hawkeye walked over to the man and asked him how he felt.

The man opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Hawkeye. He gave the doctor a weak but genuine smile. "I am ok doctor" he told him.

"You gave us quite a scare but you will be all right. I will stay here for a while and then give your brother your medicine. " Hawkeye smiled as Nancy took his vitals his patient was going to be all right.

The people in South Korea had no money but were a proud people. Na came out of the tent and offered his services. "I will work with you and pay for what you did. No money can ever repay you." he told Hawkeye.

"You can clean the swamp and help the nurses out for two days. That is my fee."

Na thanked them both and smiled and waved as the jeep left for the MASH 4077th once again.

BJ Hunnicut had been drafted into the army. He was well aware that the army needed surgeons in South Korea and was not surprised when his orders were for him to go to the country that we were having a police action at. There had been no war declared, but everyone knew that it was a war no matter what they called it. He had been recruited to serve and was one of the willing members of a MASH unit.

But nothing he had seen or heard would prepare him for what he would see in the swamps of South Korea. As he pulled into the yard he saw the area where he was to live. All that was there were tents. It was muddy and cold and the hospital was a tent. There was a place for triage but it was outside with a tarp for cover.

BJ was introduced to who was to become his best friend at the MASH 4077th Hawkeye Pierce and a new era began.


End file.
